Hunters
by SamanthaRose
Summary: Samus Aran is sent to investigate a distress signal sent from a Space Pirate frigate and ends up rescuing a man the pirates have been experimenting on... little does she know, her whole world is about to be turned upside down.
1. Hasty Decision

"Our sensors are reading you're near the frigate class ship now, Samus. Is it in view?"

The Hunter reached up and slid her visor into place, adjusting the controls of her ship and sighing almost inaudibly. The Command had a habit of asking more questions, stupid ones at that, than Samus wanted to answer.

"Affirmative. The ship is in view, I'm moving in for a landing now." She confirmed, taking the ship's controls in hand to make a manual landing.

"Landing confirmed. Once you're inside, we'll..."

"Requesting radio silence... the Space Pirates are incredibly advanced technologically and can probably sense the ship is here. There's a good chance they'll attempt to tap into my communications lines." Samus interrupted, a slight smile touching her lips. There was a long pause from the Command's end, then a new voice over the communicator.

"Ms. Aran, we've lost several good bounty hunters to the Pirates in that sector. We can't take any chances losing our best to them too..."

"Chief, there's a reason I'm your best." She flipped the communicator off, closing her eyes briefly. "Sorry... I'm not about to let these Pirates get to me... or Metroids. Or Ridley, or anything else they might want to throw at me." She stood from her chair, pressing a few buttons on her right arm that activated her beam cannon. She took a breath and cleared her head. It was time to start the hunt...

The outside defense mechanisms were far too easy to disable making something in the pit of her stomach let her know something wasn't right here.

/But that's why I'm here,right?/

The first set of doors opened with a blast from her cannon, the interior hallway dimly lit by several arrays on one side and a set of flickering lights.

/Definatly not good./

She kept her hand on her cannon more for a sense of security than any practical need, her eyes flickering from side to side. She paused to scan the arrays, scanning the door and shooting it to enter the next room

There were no signs of life... bodies everywhere, a huge, massively brutalized creature in the middle of the room, fire and live wires from broken equipment blocking one side of the room. Samus startled, turning her beam quickly to point at something that burst from a grate. She frowned to herself. It looked like an oversized bug of some sort, a plated insect with a long tail and mandibles. It looked at her, then hurried towards the massive creature's body, tearing into it and beginning to devour chunks of it's flesh.

She scanned it...

"... Parasite." She murmured. "How the hell did it get so big?" She began quick scans of the room, finding several half eaten Space Pirate corpses, about five in total. Before leaving the room, Samus casually dispatched the parasite with a single, well aimed charged shot, frowning at the body of the creature it had been eating through the heat radiating from her cannon.

/Can't risk it getting any bigger./

The door slid shut behind her, and as she continued into the next hallway, she paused, her ears picking up the sound of some sort of defense turrets coming online.

"Finally." She breathed, smiling and ducking around the corner. Two turrets, one in each corner above the door, blinked on red warning lights and began to charge shots, Samus smirking as she blew one away with a missile, the other firing in her direction before she took it out with her charge beam. Her heart was pounding now. This proved something other than parasites still lived on this gods forsaken ship. Samus moved forward through more empty rooms before coming upon one of the main research labs, something inside her once again letting her know something here wasn't right.

There were no sounds from inside but the gentle hum of computers running at minimal power... it made her heartbeat and her shallow breathing seem altogether too loud. She worried for a moment that anything still alive in here might be able to hear it. But her scanners told her, like every room before it, this one was empty of the living. She gathered data from the computer regarding experiments, malfunctions and a substance found on the planet below, something called Phazon...

A noise from a platform above her made her spin, cannon out once more, but she saw it was nothing more than a Space Pirate, badly injured, that gazed at her with a doomed look in its eyes through the glass railing of the platform above.

/Might as well.../ Samus moved up the catwalk towards the pirate, careful not to take her eyes off it. Even a badly injured Pirate could work it's arm blaster.

"H-hun... ter..." The Pirate gurgled in it's own language before slumping to the side, the light flickering from it's eyes. Samus made sure it was dead... she wasn't here to take any chances. The next door indicated it would take her to the main lab, her lips pulling into a tight line. That must have been where the now deceased pirate had dragged himself from... She was sure whatever had killed it couldn't have gone far.

/Here goes.../

Several living pirates were in this room, as well as a living but badly injured mutant parasite. The parasite was attempting to eat two space pirates that fought it at close range, not having much luck as several more pirates bombarded it with fire power. The Parasite suddenly spewed boiling acid all over the Pirate's at close range, dissolving their bodies as their final, gurgling cries escaped them. Two other Pirates behind the parasite were splattered against the wall of the lab by it's thick, powerful tail, the remaining Pirate, a flying one, letting out a rage filled shout and spinning out of control towards the beast to destroy it before it could do anymore harm.

Samus watched this ensue curiously. The massive damage to so many of the Space Pirates must have been due to them succeeding in destroying these beasts. Keeping them alive was out of the question, however... Samus hurried off to the next lab after data gathering, eager to finish the mission and leave. Something about here still wasn't sitting right, and she had no desire to spend anymore time on the frigate than she needed to.

However, nothing could prepare her for what she was to find in the lab just beyond the doors to her right.

Tanks lined the walls. Tanks stood in rows in the middle of the room. Computers monitering vital signs and containing data on the specimens were everywhere, and several Space Pirates were lying dead on the floor. Samus' eyes narrowed as she looked around, her heart pounding ever harder. Her eyes fell on a lone, still very much alive Space Pirate standing at a computer console, her beam cannon coming up to train on it.

"You would be most wise to put that beam cannon down, Samus Aran."

The Space Pirate's words were very articulate, as if it spoke so she could understand, spoke as if speaking to a child.

"Now... why would I want to do that?"

/And why am I not just blowing a hole through this thing's head?/

"I have deliberately set the ship to self destruct very soon. There is too much to lose here to enemy hands. I did not anticipate your arrival so quickly, Samus Aran." The Pirate looked over it's shoulder at her, it's features no different than any other Space Pirate's. Samus began to charge her cannon, and the Space Pirate grit it's teeth. "It does not matter how much you see, or hear, now. I just thought I would give you something. Consider it a going away present." The Space Pirate hit a button on the console with one long finger, one of the tanks nearby draining, a light slowly coming on inside. Samus kept her charged beam on the Space Pirate.

"Metroid?" She asked, her eyes not moving from the Pirate either.

"No, Samus Aran... Metroids have proved to be useless against you. We have chosen to do something far more impressive to something far larger than a mere metroid."

"I'm getting impatient and starting to get one mighty itchy trigger finger." Samus snarled. The Pirate turned to face her, holding out it's hands to indicate it had no weapons.

"Just take a look, Samus Aran..."

"Don't move an inch." She lowered her beam cannon, moving sideways towards the tank so she could still see the Pirate. Her eyes flicked away from it, and she did an effective double take.

In the tank, she saw a human man, eyes closed in simulated slumber, burn scars on one shoulder that bore injection scars as well. His skin was pale from being kept in the tank for so long.

"We were going to use him as a weapon against you... He took in the Phazon so very well..."

Spinning suddenly, Samus blasted a hole through the Pirate's chest, watching it fall with silent satisfaction.

"Sick bastards... You couldn't be satisfied until you defiled a little bit of everything from my world, could you?" She snarled again, lowering her cannon and looking back at the tank, the chief's words ringing in her ears.

/Some good hunters... He must be one of them. They aren't killing the hunters, they're capturing them!/ Her eyes flickered closed for a second as she approached the tank, her breath catching slightly. /You should kill him. Who knows what state his mind is in.../

She ran her metal clad fingers over the front of the tank, her eyes taking in the man's features. High cheekbones, toned muscles, flat stomach and strong looking hands... he seemed so familiar to her.

/I can't afford to play babysitter./

But she knew very well she couldn't leave him there either. He wasn't just another creature, he was human.

/Make a decision, Samus... you're running out of time./ The lights flickered as if to make the statement that much more urgent, and Samus drew in a sharp breath, her fingers moving over the console in front of the human's tank. In a few seconds, the tank opened and Samus found herself helping the human down, supporting him.

"Let's go." She murmured, hurrying out of the lab with him in tow. As she entered the lab prior, the ground began to shake.

/What now?/

The ship was set to self destruct any moment, and she had no time to play these games. However, she changed her mind upon seeing the massive parasite that was crawling up the middle of an empty stasis tank in the middle of the room. She cursed under her breath, setting her human cargo gently on the ground in a sheltered area. She knew she couldn't move fast enough to get past this thing carrying him. She had to fight.

From the look of this particular mutant parasite, Samus figured it was the Queen Parasite. Her body was swollen with acid sacs, her double sets of mandibles glistened with corrosive saliva, four legs kept her held vertical in the tank, and a long, long tail with a nasty stinger at the bottom curved underneath her.

/I wonder if the Pirates regret creating those things.../

It was a passing thought... Samus charged her cannon and fired a warning shot at the parasite Queen, getting it's attention.

"Over here, you slobbering fiend! Bet I look pretty tasty to you..."


	2. Swift Retreat

The parasite let out an angry shriek, spitting a stream of acid in Samus' direction. The Hunter rolled out of the way quickly, firing her arm cannon at the parasite and wincing at the heat radiating from the acid. She blasted a missile into the creature's face, leaping out of the way as it lunged forward with it's mandibles. The missile did nothing... it didn't even slow it down. Gritting her teeth, Samus backed away, rapidly firing her cannon at the creature and waiting for her chance. She needed to get to the soft underbelly of the parasite... that was her only chance.

The creature let out another shriek and reared it's head back... now was her chance! Samus fired a missile at the underside of the Queen's belly, causing an eruption of acid, entrails and screaming. The Queen thrashed about violently, smashing free from the tank and dragging itself across the floor towards the very startled bounty hunter. Samus ducked easily away, rolling to one side before standing again and running, shooting over her shoulder. Her shots bounced off the plate armor on the Parasite's body, her missiles only inflicting minimal damage. The Parasite turned clumsily, Samus managing to fire a few shots into it's face, breaking mandibles and damaging the beast further. Screaming in rage once more, the parasite, with the last of her strength, spewed great quanitities of acid in Samus' direction. The clad hunter ran, leaping behind the pile of rubble she had set the human man near and pressing herself over him to sheild him. The acid, thick and boiling hot, splashed over the debris, sliding off Samus' suit but easily eating through rock and metal.

Samus gently moved the human away from the acid, the dying sounds of the parasite letting her know now was a good time to run. Picking up her human cargo once more, Samus ran towards the other side of the room, the ship once again shaking.

The exit had to be close...

She found herself in the large room where the elevator had first delivered her, a feeling of relief washing over her... until she looked up.

Jaw clenched and eyes narrowed, Samus stood incredibly still, staring at the massive, dragonlike creature on the lighting apparatus above her.

"Ridley." She hissed, the creature looking down with an impish gleam in his eyes. "What the hell have you done to yourself?"

An explosion somewhere inside the ship rocked it violently, sending Samus and the human she carried flying forward. Ridley let out a hoarse, gutteral cry and took to flight, making his way out of the ship and to safety. Pulling herself to her feet and reaching down to pick up the human man again, Samus hurried as best she could to the door across the room, her suit feeling slightly stiff and the diagnostics system letting her know there were several malfunctions within. Moving to the elevator, Samus set the human man down, punching the button to head to the surface of the ship. More explosions rocked through the ship, delaying the elevator's rising and the doors wouldn't close. Samus punched the button a few more times, looking up wide eyed as an explosion tore through the room just in front of her. She was thrown back, slamming into the back wall of the elevator hard enough to rattle her bones through the protection of the suit. The doors of the elevator finally closed, jerking as it rose to the surface. The frigate still shook with explosions...

Samus gasped for breath, picking the rocks and debris off the body of her human cargo. He was still breathing and hadn't been too badly damaged by the blast, but Samus' suit was running on bare minimum now. Her auto repair system kicked in to help make sure she could still protect herself, but all she had for a weapon now was her arm cannon and a small blaster she kept handy in her ship.

Shouldering her burden as the elevator reached the surface, Samus began to run. The ship's surface was trembling, the force sheild around it beginning to fail. She had to get him into her gunship before he died in the vacuum of space... Leaping quickly as her gunship drew near, Samus landed on top of it, throwing herself forward with her momentum. Drawing the human man close, she hit a button on her arm cannon, the ship granting them entry.

Once inside, Samus set it to autopilot, heading towards the planet, removing her helmet and kneeling beside the human man. He had a strong pulse... but he wasn't breathing.

"Damn it, no! I didn't bring you all the way here for you to die on me now!!" She cried, straightening him and beginning to perform CPR.

Outside, the Frigate exploded...

The gunship rocked, but stayed on course, and Samus continued her efforts to save the human she had taken from the Space Pirates. After a few attempts, just as the Hunter was about to give up, the human man inhaled sharply, letting out a soft sigh, and Samus once again felt relief flood through her. She sat for a moment with closed eyes, her hand resting on his chest so she could feel it rise and fall. For a moment, everything was peaceful, quiet.

The ship was the only sound right now, the computers working quietly, the sound of the thrusters gentle background noise one could barely notice. The planet below, Tallon IV, loomed closer now.

Samus let out a gentle sigh, starting to get to her feet to move to the computer consoles... but the gunship violently lurched to the side, sending her sprawling ungracefully into a heap on top of the human man with a squawk. Scrambling to her feet again, she hurried to the control console, looking around for whatever it was that attacked her.

"... Gods damn it.." She spat, seeing Ridley flying a good ways ahead of the gun-ship. A quick check showed all systems were running smoothly still, and Ridley had veered away, towards a different part of the planet, so Samus disregarded him for the moment.

In a little while, the gun-ship moved through the planet's atmosphere, landing in a small clearing on the planet's surface. Samus took a moment to do some bioscans on the planet's atmosphere before preparing to scout the area, her eyes turning to the still unconscious man.

"Wake up soon, okay?" She told him, exiting the gun-ship. "I'm tired of talking to myself."

/You always work best alone./

"This is different. He's another hunter."

/Competition, then./

"Who cares... There's Ridley to take care of again. And my suit is broken."

/You're making excuses.../

"I'm also arguing with myself." She stopped talking to herself, sighing shortly. Her scans showed nothing hostile in the immediate area, so she returned to the gunship to get her unconscious companion. They both needed to get cleaned up, and there was a small stream and waterfall conveniently located nearby.

Samus sat under the stream of water with her back against the rocks, the human propped in a sitting position against her. The water washed over them both, feeling so good against Samus' bare skin. She gazed up at what she could see of the sky through the foliage that conveniently covered the clearing she was in from view, admiring the bright stars.

This was a beautiful place. There was a peace about this place despite the hollowness that surrounded it. It felt like a place that could be called ome. She sighed softly and looked down at the man in her arms, her eyes falling on his shoulder. She could clearly see the scars now... his shoulder was speckled with them. Radiation burns created an almost pretty pattern over his entire shoulder, and the upper part of his arm, textured to the touch. Samus ran her fingers over them, able to feel a slight heat coming off them.

/... Are you in pain?/

She leaned her chin on his head, closing her eyes and letting herself drown in the feeling of the water.


	3. Dark Plans and Awakenings

It couldn't have been anything but dumb luck. Dumb luck that he would end up here, dumb luck that he would stumble upon this place after getting separated from the rest of the team. Something was working in his favor when he went through the wrong doorway.

Now he stood in a guarded clearing, and the Hunter's gunship was just in front of him. The Hunter herself was crouched before a pool of water, without her suit… and she hadn't heard him. She hadn't seen him or his approach, and with her back to him, he would be able to finish the job that so many Space Pirates before him had failed to.

She tensed when she heard his weapon powering up, but didn't turn even after she straightened. He wondered if her face was turning red… a chuckle escaped his throat, and he lifted his weapon to level it with her head. The Hunter didn't seem so big without her suit, just another tiny, weak human.

"So much for the great Samus Aran." He rasped.

There was the sound of energy discharging, but instead of watching with satisfaction as the Hunter's red blood stained the water and the rocks in front of her, there was a searing pain around his chest and his own blood splattered over her too pale flesh. She turned quickly, eyes widening in surprise as she gazed past him to something behind him.

He had no time to turn, to see who it was that had killed him in the moment of his glory. With a deep groan as he released his final breath, he toppled to the ground.

Samus stepped gingerly past the dead pirate, her eyes never leaving the form of the man she had rescued from the frigate as he sat propped up on the rock where she had left him. His eyes were full of a burning hatred as he gazed at the fallen figure of the Space Pirate that had somehow managed to ambush her, and something in Samus swelled.

Perhaps saving him hadn't been such a bad idea after all.

He turned those eyes up towards her, his expression softening ever so slightly. Sweat shone on his face and chest, and he breathed heavily as though the simple act of taking the pistol from beside him and firing it had exerted him. He struggled to sit up, Samus moving quickly to assist him in shifting to a more comfortable position, then he let out a breathless laugh.

"… I guess… this makes us even." His voice was hoarse from disuse, very quiet… and very familiar. Samus watched his eyes flicker closed again and sighed gently. For now, she would have to let him sleep.

Moving back to the pool, she finished splashing water on her face and donned her power suit to keep herself safe from any more ambushes. It might have been luck that drew the Pirate here, but she had almost been killed once today and didn't feel like leaving anything up to chance. She moved herself and her companion back into the gunship where she decided to wait until he woke up again.

This wasn't a place she wanted to be wandering around alone in. There was something more than Ridley here that was causing the uneasy feeling in her stomach. Something bigger… Something worse.

…

…

…

There was a smug smile on Zakara's face as she looked out at all the people gathered in the room before her. There was a confidence in her stride that made her seem much taller than she actually was, a sure air about her that made those around her understand without words the reason why she was in charge of this place.

When she descended the stairs to the podium in the middle of the room, the conversations that were carrying on around her hushed until she moved to stand behind the podium in utter silence. Their attention was focused completely on her, as it should have been. And these men, these Bounty Hunters, these scavengers of the weak and the wealthy and corrupt, they were all here for a reason.

The prize they had been promised for a mission that hadn't yet been described to them was more than most of them could imagine. She had made sure to promise them more than was necessary to see her cargo was brought back alive.

"Welcome gentlemen." Her accented voice rang out through the room without assistance so that even those that sat in the very back and those that lurked in the shadows could hear her. "I trust you all found your way here easily enough?"

There was a murmur through the crowd that was silenced as she raised her hand. All eyes remained locked on her, and she flashed a brief smile that didn't touch her eyes. She was a striking woman of small stature, her green eyes dark rimmed and half lidded, her dark hair hanging in ringlets down her back. She couldn't be called beautiful, or even pretty, and her manner suggested she cared for neither description.

"Good. I suppose this meeting can now begin. I suppose what I have before me is the best of the best when it comes to Bounty Hunters in this wretched Galaxy. After all, that's what I requested on the report I sent out over various channels a week ago. And I suppose… I shall find out if that report really DID gather the best of the best." There was another smile, this one slow and venomous. Another murmur ran through the crowd, and this time Zakara simply talked over them. "This mission will be taking you to Tallon IV… and tell me, gentlemen."

She stepped out from behind the podium, the smile gone, her dark eyes sweeping over the crowd as she casually folded her hands behind her back.

"How much do you know about Metroids?"

…

…

…

The man woke twice more in the hours that followed the mornings events, and both times Samus managed to get him to drink some water and eat some rations, hoping both would speed his recovery along. She debated whether or not it was a good idea to give him some antibiotics from her med kit, wanting to help the infection but not wanting to aggravate whatever condition he may have been left with after the Space Pirates experimented on him.

It was some time in the evening before he woke up, and when he did he seemed to have the strength to sit up on his own. Samus found him upon returning to the gunship after a brief scouting mission around the area where she had landed, and she couldn't help the feeling of relief that flooded her upon seeing him with eyes open.

"Welcome back." She murmured, seating herself in the pilots chair and swivelling it to face him. She reached up and removed her helmet, and he nodded slowly in reply to her greeting, looking around the ship with a curious expression.

"Where are we?" He asked, his voice still quiet. She offered him some water, which he took with a gracious thank you.

"Tallon IV. I was investigating a Space Pirate frigate not far from the planet when I found you." Samus replied, letting her eyes trail over him in the dim light within the ship. "You're in rough shape."

"Feeling better now. You must have managed to feed me at some point in time."

"I managed it, yes. You woke up a couple times since this morning. Do you at least remember that?"

"Yes… you're very lucky I was here. Though, I wouldn't be if you hadn't gotten me away from the Pirates. I guess that makes us both lucky." He reached up a hand and dragged his fingers through his brown hair.

"That's good. What's your name?" When his eyes flicked towards her quickly and one of his eyebrows arched, the feeling of familiarity returned. Samus felt she knew him, she just didn't know where from.

"Doug." He paused briefly, then chuckled. "And you're Samus. Samus Aran."

"What gave it away?" She smiled as she spoke, and they shared a soft laugh together. Samus was a loner, spent much of her time in solitude, and she had never brought someone with her before on a mission, not since training academy. Why she suddenly felt so at ease with this man here, why she felt as though she didn't want to brave this place alone, she didn't know. It was making her feel weak…

"You and I met before." Doug murmured quietly, taking another drink of water. Samus looked at him in silence, waiting for him to continue. "A long time ago. I think you had just been granted the title of the Greatest Bounty Hunter Alive."

Samus snorted and shook her head, sweeping a lock of blonde hair from her eyes.

"What a joke." She muttered. "There are better ones… they just make more mistakes than I do. I don't compromise, that's what makes it easy to finish a job."

"Looks like things have changed."

Their eyes met, their gazes held, and Doug offered her a gentle smile, sitting up further. Samus didn't speak…

He was right. Something had changed. If it had been someone else, she had no doubt she would have left them on that ship. The ship was going to explode, so there would have been no reason to rescue a person tainted and tortured by the Space Pirates. They would die in the explosion and be put out of their misery…

So what was it about this particular human that made her compromise?

"I'm a Bounty Hunter, too, Samus. I guess I don't look the way I used to. Either that or you don't recognize me without the mask." Doug's voice brought her back to her senses, and she frowned ever so slightly in his direction.

One metal clad hand came up slowly, moving so that it blocked her vision of the top half of his face. High cheekbones… the shape of his mouth… the body beneath it, all so familiar but she just couldn't quite place it. He breathed slowly and evenly, his lips threatening to twitch up into a smile.

"You… flew the blue ship." Samus murmured, closing her eyes. "Gods… Doug. Your real name is Doug? I wouldn't have ever thought-"

"Thought a guy like me would have such an ordinary name?" He finished with a laugh. "If it makes you feel better, Samus, you can call me Falcon."

…

…

…

…

…

Author's Note!

Introduction of the badguy! Sort of… I guess? Anyway, another chapter will come soon, now that I have set up my playlist for this fic. I find it much easier to write with music to inspire me.

Any questions, comments, etc? Also, Miss Anonymous, I agree COMPLETELY that there aren't enough of these fics out there. This one has been in the works for quite some time and while I know how it is going to play out roughly, I've never written very much of it. It got completely scrapped and redone some time ago (years maybe :S ) and this time I look forward to finishing it. Even if people don't read it, and I've noticed on this site Crossovers don't generally get much attention, I'm going to keep posting!

Thanks!


	4. Benefactor

"You're asking for chaos by sending this many hunters after the worm." The voice that spoke to Zakara from the screen on the wall behind a curtain was a familiar one, the rasping, grating sound of it able to belong to only one creature. She didn't bother turning to look even as she flipped the switch that drew the curtain away, a smirk playing on her lips and one long fingered hand reaching up to sweep her hair from her face.

"Think of it as a good way, an easier way for you to get what you need to continue the weapon you so foolishly lost in the atmosphere of Tallon IV." She replied, and there was a gutteral curse from behind her. Tucking away the last of the documents pertaining to the accounts the money was to be transferred to upon a job hopefully well done by the victor, she turned to look up at the face of the Space Pirate who spoke to her from the lab beyond the room where she stood. "After all… you need someone new to start the treatment after you and your kind allowed the Hunter to escape with the last one in tow, isn't that right?"

"Your forked tongue is best kept behind your teeth, woman."

"That is hardly the way to speak to your benefactor." Zakara chuckled and moved to a door just beneath the screen on the wall. As she pressed the button for it to be opened, there was a pause before a green light blinked on and the door slid back into the wall. A blast of air hit her, pushing her long black hair back, as the increased pressure on the other side of it escaped, then she slipped inside and let out a gentle sigh.

Another door opened in front of her after a short lift ride downwards, revealing in flesh and blood the very same Space Pirate who had been speaking to her before.

"Our benefactor you may be in this system, Zakara, and that may make you privileged, but don't forget who you're dealing with here." The Pirate growled.

"Very hard to with you breathing down my neck about one thing or another every free second I get. How is the other experiment coming along?" She didn't wait for him to lead the way, striding down the catwalk over the lab on her much shorter legs. The Pirates towered over her, but there were those who showed her a great deal of respect after seeing what she was capable of and hearing just what she wanted out of them.

"Well enough. We've made some progress, but progress is slow. He's not growing as quickly as we would have hoped, and there's limited sentience. We're still a long way from a working prototype."

"Still, progress is good no matter how small. Just make sure you keep trying new strains on other test subjects before you introduce them to his system." Zakara paused to look over a console to her left, then continued onwards, moving to head down a ramp into the lab proper.

"There has been no rejection, not at this step in the process. His DNA is no longer deteriorating, and he's formed his own exoskeleton. Various tests need to be done to see how sturdy it is."

At this, Zakara paused and turned with narrowed eyes, looking up at the Pirate.

"You mean to inflict pain upon him?" She asked softly, and the Pirate gave her a frustrated look.

"Not enough to harm him. We just need to test to see what he can withstand."

"Remember that even minimal pain can cause him to lose his temper. Small as he is, he's strong and I don't need you to lose anymore scientists. The last three were bad enough." She gave him a poisonous look and continued down the ramp, stepping up to another console and pulling out a small card. As she scanned it, she began opening files in the database.

"We will be careful." The Pirate behind her added almost as an afterthought, and Zakara grunted in reply as she clicked on a file regarding the Metal Clad Hunter as the Pirates felt fit to call her.

"Speaking of being careful… any more progress locating Aran?"

"She continues to elude us. We have minimal forces on the planet and all those that can be spared are looking into the crash to see what might have gone wrong, and gathering up all that can be salvaged from the frigate." The Space Pirate shifted his weight from one foot to the other, but instead of Zakara lashing out as he had thought she would, she turned and offered him a brief smile.

"I want you to send out a message to those Bounty Hunters. I just had an idea… Tell them I will triple the price promised if any of them can bring me the Hunter alive."

When the Space Pirate looked at her for a moment in silence with an expression of what she took for surprise, she twitched an eyebrow at him.

"Chaos, as you said." She continued. "Chaos that will hopefully help us to eradicate those that may hinder us in the future. The more Bounty Hunters we get out of the way now, the less we have to worry about them in the future. The sooner we get rid of them, the sooner this world will belong to you and your kind, isn't that correct?"

There was another moment of silence, then the Space Pirate turned and barked an order across the lab at someone, finally looking back down at the diminutive woman before him.

"You haven't yet outlived your usefulness." He murmured softly, and she chuckled in reply.

…

…

…

Falcon watched Samus quietly as she wandered to the edge of the clearing, then leaned down to splash water in his face with a gentle sigh. He stared down at the pool when the water stilled after his disturbance, gazing at his gaunt face, pale skin and slender frame as his expression twisted with disgust. He wasn't sure how long he had been in that tank, or on that ship, he wasn't sure exactly how long it had been since his flyer had been overcome in space… judging from the way he looked, he had to guess it had been quite some time. There was nothing to do now but recover and help Samus on whatever quest she might be on here… whether she liked it or not.

He recalled her mentioning there was something unsettling about this place, and now that she had said it, he could feel it himself. There was something unnatural about the air, some sort of sickness that lurked beneath the earth they stood on, something threatening to poison this paradise. Whatever it was, it caused a stirring inside him, made him feel uncomfortably aware of all the things around him.

He glanced over at the area where she had been wandering, but she had disappeared from view. Quickly, Falcon stood and wandered across the clearing with his heart beginning to thunder, but the brief feeling of panic vanished when Samus stepped out of a short corridor to his left, reaching up to pull her helmet off.

"Found a door back there. There's a few more around this area, though I can't reach some of them with my suit damaged as it is." She said, Falcon offering her a nod in reply. She eyed him up and down and nodded as well. "You're looking better."

"Thanks. I'm feeling better. Wondering if it's a good sign though." He put his hand on his shoulder, then rolled his shoulder a few times with a grimace. "The infection seems to be settling down, but it's stiff and sore still. Can't do much climbing about, but I can hold and shoot a pistol, so I should be able to tag along with you while you're exploring."

"I don't know if that's a good idea." Her voice sounded so firm and stiff that Falcon was sure it was an automatic response.

"Well, then. I'll sit here and wait for you to get back. If it suits you better." He tried to come across as understanding, but the look that she gave him told him he must have failed. "What?"

"I have to contact the people who sent me here. I requested radio silence coming up on the frigate and I'm sure they're in a panic thinking I'm dead along with everyone else aboard that wreck. Give me a few minutes, then maybe we can go do some exploring." She muttered something about him having her back as she boarded her ship once more, disappearing inside.

He stared at the ship for a moment, then sat down the rock he had been propped up against the morning of the Space Pirate attack, sighing deeply.

Samus reached out and touched her communications console, letting out a barely audible sigh as she keyed her identification code in and waited for a response. She had honestly forgotten completely about contacting the Federation after getting Falcon off the frigate, and she was sure they weren't going to be happy that she had cut them off during the operation.

It didn't matter that much… she was still here and she had done the job she was sent to do.

"Samus! It's about time, you had us all worried!" The voice of the commander exclaimed, Samus unable to keep herself from rolling her eyes. "What happened out there?"

"The frigate was badly damaged by some experiments the Pirates had, some mutated parasites. They were pretty big, and pretty surly. It's obvious they got ahead of themselves and didn't have the proper containment…" She gave her report, about the parasites, the phazon, the Pirates and anything else she had learned on the frigate before the explosion, also informing the commander of Ridley's presence and modifications.

"What about survivors? Did you find any of the hunters they took?" The commander's voice was hopeful, and Samus took in another breath, deciding her answer very carefully.

"I only found one." She murmured after a moment, and there was a pause from the other end of the communication.

"And?" The commander finally said.

"And… he's still alive. I've got him with me. Before you get excited and send an extraction team, however, there's something else I need to tell you about. There's something here, on the planet. Something the Pirates are after. I'm requesting you leave the survivor with me and hold off on extraction or backup until I can learn more." She said it quickly to avoid interruptions, and the commander once again fell silent when she finished speaking. There was muttering in the back ground, and Samus held her breath, waiting.

"Alright… we trust you on this one. Report back soon, Samus Aran, and good luck. If the Pirates are up to something, it can't be good. But watch your back, there's reports of increased Hunter activity out there and the last thing I need is for you to get tangled up in something."

"Trust me, with the help I've got with me, there'll be no trouble." Samus reached out and flicked off the communication console just as the commander asked "Who is it?" She ran her fingers through her hair and stood, moving to exit the ship once more and join Falcon below. She wasn't sure why she had hesitated in telling the commander about Falcon…

Perhaps she wasn't sure herself what the Federation would do to him when they found out what the Pirates had done. Perhaps she wasn't sure she wanted to share all the details because she hadn't yet come to realize what the details might implicate.

When the lift brought her out of her ship, she found herself looking down at Falcon…

And another figure that hadn't been there when she had gone into the ship. Her beam cannon swung around and trained on the second figure standing below, her eyes taking in his features hurriedly.

Dark hair, bronze skin, and dark glasses over his eyes. Formfitting black body armor, a heavy gun across his back and two blades at his hips. Whoever this man was, he had the nerve to smile at her playfully as he looked up.

"Well well well…" The strange said, Falcon glancing up at her briefly before turning his eyes back to the man before him, the pistol Samus had given him also aimed at the other man as Samus' beam cannon was. "You're just as lovely as the rumors say, Samus Aran."

"Where did you come from?" Samus demanded, leaping easily from her ship without losing aim.

"Somewhere."

"What are you doing here?" She circled around him slowly so that she stood behind him, and he glanced over his shoulder, raising his hands slowly. There were curled claws on his fingers, and when he smiled again, she could see the delicately pointed teeth in his mouth. "You're a scavenger, aren't you?"

"One question at a time love." He said, still smiling. "And one answer at a time, too. I'm here chasing after a bounty. And why yes. I am a Scavenger, though I rather detest being called that." He took in a deep breath and exhaled slowly, letting out a soft noise.

"Samus?" Falcon asked, eyes flicking between her and the Scavenger.

"Keep your gun on him." Samus replied, lowering her beam cannon and moving around to face the newcomer. "What's your name?"

"Call me Raven." He flashed her another playful smile and laughed. "Fitting name for a Scavenger."

"Alright then, Raven. What bounty are you chasing? Answer this carefully, because if it's me, you're going to end up as a smear on the ground in a few seconds." Samus' tone was fierce, and Raven twitched an eyebrow at her.

"So feisty… if you must know, the bounty I'm after isn't you. I'm not stupid or desperate or greedy enough to chase THAT bounty. Though seeing you in the flesh does make it tempting." He wisely kept his hands up as he was talking, well away from his weapons, but Falcon kept the gun on him regardless.

"You're saying someone has a bounty on me?" Samus' tone of surprise made Falcon glance at her. "Who?"

"A woman named Zakara. Lives on a moon she owns quite aways from here. We got the job a few days ago, but she added bringing you in alive as a bonus. Could net us three times the amount she offered originally." Raven looked Falcon over and flashed him a winning smile. The other male didn't move, though his hand tightened on his gun a little more.

"What is the bounty she's offering the original amount for?"

Raven looked back at Samus and tilted his head ever so slightly to the side, breathing deeply then exhaling once more. He seemed to be mulling over his answer, and when he did speak, it was quietly with a note of seriousness that hadn't been in his tone before.

"There's something here in a crater caused by a meteor. She wants us to bring it back alive and is offering more than enough for me to buy my own moon and live very comfortably for the rest of my life."

Samus and Falcon exchanged glances, and she put a hand on his arm, causing him to lower the gun at last.

"What is it, Raven? What could be worth so much to her?" Samus asked quietly, narrowing her eyes.

Raven paused again, straightening and lowering his hands. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small electronic device, opening the mission file and offering it to her.

Samus took it tentatively, taking her time in removing her eyes from Raven to look down at it. When she looked back up, her expression was so terrible that Falcon felt his heart beginning to race once more.

"How many of you are there? How many are coming?" She demanded, stepping closer. "And how did you find me here?"

"I knew what I was looking for. As for how many of us there are… every Bounty Hunter this side of space and more from the other are coming for this Bounty Miss Aran. Every single hunter she could find is coming for the Metroid worm."


End file.
